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Monday, November 11, 2013

The Assignment

We have received news!

We now know where the Air Force will be sending us!

October is an anxious time for AFIT families -- it is the month assignments are announced. Many AFIT students have sponsored slots which often means the base which sponsored them will be where they are stationed next, but that is not always the case.

On Ryan's paperwork to come to AFIT he was unsponsored. We had no clue where we were headed next.

A couple months ago the base eligibility list was posted (also known as vulnerable to move). This had a list of bases and jobs in a certain field that would be open for those who would be PCSing.

That isn't a long list. After talking it over and investigating what the bases and locations had to offer, what the jobs would be, Ryan created his preference list. And then we waited. And we were nervous. And we prayed that God would put us in the place that was best for us.

The news was released: we are going BACK to Albuquerque, NM!

This made me both very happy and also nervous. I'm excited to go return to the Land of Enchantment. I loved New Mexico. The land is beautiful, the culture is strong, and the history is rich. There is so much to see and explore. I had (and still have) great friends there. We enjoyed our church. We will already have a support system partially in place when we arrive. We already know the city! But on the other hand, the schools are not very good. Therapy for William can be difficult to obtain. Some resources are not as available as they are here in Dayton.

We did briefly discuss the option of trying to switch orders to stay here solely for the benefit of William... but it was unlikely to happen. Many, many people from here are going to Kirtland. Even if we did not put it on our preference list chances are we would have been sent there anyway.

So at this time I'm making my peace about the whole thing. I'm looking forward to returning. We do have another appointment with Will's developmental pediatrician before we move and I think we might have to do another EFMP meeting before we PCS so who knows what will happen. I mean, it's the military -- even if you have orders in hand things can change.

We wait and see. Ryan will be graduating in March and has to be at Kirtland by early April. There is a possibility he will get to stay in Ohio to do a special conference thing about his thesis but we won't know that for some time yet. Our plan is for me and the kids to stay until the end of the school year... so we will be getting to New Mexico in very early June.

But again, plans can change. We'll see what happens and what God has in store.

An Air Force wife and stay-at-home mom to two young children and a dog. Former Navy Brat and call Washington State home. These are the glimpses into my life -- the military, a son with a severe speech disorder, my hobbies, my opinions, and our travels as we take in the world around us.